English Today - Английский сегодня.
Уровень Elementary. Часть 6. Эпизод 16.
Тема: Разговор о Билле Гейтсе.

Good evening and welcome to this week's edition of 'Let's talk'.
In the studio with me this evening are our commentators Marie and Tom. How are you?
Fine, thanks Eric.
Very good! Today let's talk...
Let's talk about one of the world most famous men in the world.
I mean, Bill Gates: the world's top businessman and the richest man in the world.
I have a question: how did he become so successful?
I can answer that question with one word: 'Windows', the most widely used computer operating system in the world.
Yes, yes, that's true.
It's almost every computer in the world uses Windows.

Let's go back in time a little!
How did Bill Gates arrive at where he is today?
I'd say thanks to his business skills!
At the end of the 80's when he founded Microsoft he understood where the computer industry was going.
That's right!
At that time computers were very big, very expensive and only large companies could use them.
Gates understood that smaller, personal computers, the PCs we use today, were the future.
Of course, he wanted all these PCs to use his software.
So he understood 20 years ago how we use computers today, that's a good businessman.

But of course you need more than intuition to become the world's top businessman.
Yes of course, to become the world's number one businessman you need an aggressive business philosophy.
For example, from the beginning Bill Gates did everything to stop the illegal copying of Microsoft programmes.
Until this time people didn't buy software programmes, they shared them freely or copied them; Bill Gates created the market for computer software.
But that's not all!
Bill Gates was very ambitious too!
Do you know he wanted to be a millionaire by the age of 30?
Yes, and he worked very, very hard!

For many years he only slept six hours a day, he was a real workaholic.
So he also helped coffee producers too!
I guess so.
After he became a multi-millionaire with Windows what did he do next?
He turned his attention to the Internet.
Initially he didn't think the Internet was important, this was a business mistake.
Microsoft developed Internet Explorer 4 and three years later Microsoft won the browser war and destroyed its competitors.
So today almost every computer in the world uses a Microsoft programme.
That's right!
Well, Bill Gates is a very, very successful businessman.

Is there anything about him to make him likeable or just a bit human?
Well, his charity work, this is very important for him.
Bill and his wife Melinda now work for The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; in 2000 Bill gave half his fortune to the foundation to fund charity work.
This is fantastic. Bill Gates, a successful man, with very good business skills, but with a big heart too!
Well, today we have learned about one of the most important business leaders of our age.
Thanks very much Marie, and thank you Tom! Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Thank you. Goodbye.
And goodbye to you.
And see you again soon for the next edition of 'Let's talk'.